Potential Israeli settler violence threatens 250,000 Palestinians – UN report
18 November 2009 – Nearly 250,000 Palestinians in 83 communities on the West Bank are at risk of heightened violence in so-called “price tag” revenge attacks that Israeli settlers may launch against a large-scale attempt by Israel to evacuate outposts it considers illegal, a United Nations report warned today.

“While most ‘price tag’ incidents recorded to date… resulted in Palestinian injuries and in significant property damage, the level of settler mobilization observed so far, appears to be relatively limited,” it noted, referring to the settler strategy of exacting a “price” from Palestinians in response to Israeli attempts to dismantle outposts the authorities themselves have not authorized.

“However, considering the limited scope of the removal operations implemented so far by the Israeli authorities, the level of violence that could be expected following a relatively large dismantlement operation is significantly higher,” the monthly report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) added, listing a litany of attacks against Palestinians and their property, such as olive groves.

It called on Israel to ensure that all its security forces in the field are properly instructed about their authority and obligation to enforce the law on Israeli settlers and protect Palestinian civilians from settler violence, which must no longer enjoy the impunity it now does. Israel must also allocate necessary forces to effectively patrol all areas near vulnerable communities ahead of operations against the outposts.

“Considering Israel’s obligations under international law, the Israeli authorities must adopt all the necessary measures to prevent to the greatest extent possible attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians civilians and their property, in response to the removal of settlement outposts,” it stressed, adding that this year 13 Palestinians have been injured per month on average in settler-related incidents.

The report, which cited numerous accounts from the Israeli authorities, army and media, noted that the immediate aim of the “price tag” strategy is to divert Israeli forces from the scene of an outpost evacuation into other areas requiring their intervention to contain violent incidents.

It cited Israel’s “inadequate level of law enforcement” despite its responsibility under international law, as the occupying power, to ensure public order and safety in the occupied territory, the lack of adequate accountability for settler violence, and the frequent failure of Israeli security forces to intervene and stop the attacks in real time, including to arrest suspects on the spot.

“The current lack of accountability undermines efforts to reduce the phenomenon of settler violence in the long run and infringes on the rights of the victims to justice,” it said.

The report also noted that the most significant measure Israel has so far taken on the ground has been its decision to deploy during the past three olive harvest seasons, forces with the explicit task of protecting Palestinian farmers working in the vicinity of some settlements.

“This measure has reduced the number of incidents involving physical assaults by settlers and resulting in injuries, however, it hardly affected the scope of attacks against property such as olive groves and produce,” it said.

On occupied East Jerusalem, OCHA said that while Israel has expropriated some 35 per cent of land there for Israeli settlements, only around 13 per cent is available for Palestinian building and much of that land is built-up already. In those areas where construction is possible, Israeli bureaucratic restrictions make it extremely difficult for Palestinian residents to get building permits, it added.

In a related development, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for a settlement of the Middle East conflict that espouses the internationally accepted Road Map plan for two States – Israel and Palestine – to live side by side in peace and security within fully recognized borders.

“Palestinians have waited too long for an end to occupation and a State of their own,” he said in a message to a hosts and donors meeting of the 60-year-old UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the main conduit for aid to Palestinian refugees.

“Israelis have a right to live in peace and harmony with their neighbours. More than ever, for both peoples, for the region and for the international community as a whole, we need to see two States living side by side in peace and security,” he added in the message, which was delivered by UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) Executive Secretary Bader Al-Dafa to the gathering in Jordan.

Settlers or Israeli Army damaging Environment and Trees of Palestine

Israeli soldiers look on as Palestinian farmers plant olive trees on their land in the Israeli occupied West Bank close to the village of Qusra, just south of the city of Nablus on January 23, 2011, following previous altercations with Jewish settlers. AFP PHOTO/JAAFAR ASHTIYEH

An Israeli left wing activist stands next to a Palestinian man before planting olive trees in an area that local Palestinians claim Jewish settlers uprooted olives trees last year in West Bank village of Mughaiyir, northwest of Ramallah January 20, 2011. Thursday marked Israel’s Arbour day. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

A Palestinian farmer reacts as he inspects his field which he says was damaged by Jewish settlers who cut down olive trees in the village of Qasra, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on February 20, 2011. PHOTO/JAAFAR ASHTIYEH

Jewish settlers run towards the West Bank village of Asira al-Qibilya near Nablus during clashes with Palestinian villagers July 3, 2011. According to witnesses, the clashes erupted after the settlers cut down olive trees belonging to the village. An Israeli army spokesperson said one Israeli was injured by a rock before security forces dispersed the crowd. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini

A Palestinian tries to extinguish fires at an olive tree grove that they claimed was set ablaze by Israeli settlers, which could not be independently verified, in the northern West Bank village of Burin, near Nablus, Thursday, June 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

A Palestinian man extinguishes fire at an olive tree grove that was allegedly set ablaze by Jewish settlers in the northern West Bank village of Salem, east of Nablus, on November 14, 2010. AFP PHOTOJAAFAR ASHTIYEH (Photo credit should read JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP/Getty Images)

A Palestinian tries to extinguish fires at an olive tree grove that they claimed was set ablaze by Israeli settlers, which could not be independently verified, in the northern West Bank village of Burin, near Nablus, Thursday, June 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

Palestinians walk past fires at an olive tree grove that they claimed was set ablaze by Israeli settlers, which could not be independently verified, in the northern West Bank village of Burin, near Nablus, Thursday, June 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

Jewish settlers break the branches of an olive tree in a grove belonging to the West Bank village of Asira al-Qibilya near Nablus July 3, 2011. According to witnesses, clashes erupted on Sunday after the settlers caused damage to olive trees belonging to the Palestinian village. An Israeli army spokesperson said one Israeli was injured by a rock before security forces dispersed the crowd. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini

A Palestinian man uses a olive tree branch to extinguish a fire at an olive tree grove and surrounding grazing land that was allegedly set ablaze by Jewish settlers in the northern West Bank village of Salem, east of Nablus in the Israeli occupied West Bank, on November 14, 2010. Since the start of the olive harvest last month, there have been scores of Palestinian complaints about settlers cutting down trees, stealing olives or preventing farmers from harvesting their crops, human rights groups and police say. AFP PHOTO/JAAFAR ASHTIYEH

Palestinians extinguish fire at an olive tree grove that was allegedly set ablaze by Jewish settlers in the northern West Bank village of Salem, east of Nablus, on November 14, 2010. AFP PHOTOJAAFAR ASHTIYEH

A Palestinian scrambles down a burnt hillside as he and others try to extinguish fires at an olive tree grove that they claimed was set ablaze by Israeli settlers, which could not be independently verified, in the northern West Bank village of Burin, near Nablus, Thursday, June 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

A Palestinian rides his donkey through a burning field as an Israeli army jeep drives by, after arsonists set fire to an olive grove in the West Bank village of Burin, near Nablus, Monday, Sept. 5, 2011. Palestinian witnesses say Jewish settlers set fire to an olive grove in a West Bank village Monday, after a mosque was torched allegedly by Jewish settlers in another West Bank village earlier. Both incidents occurred after the Israeli military razed three buildings in an unauthorized West Bank Jewish settlement outpost before dawn, and clashed with defiant settlers who reject a Supreme Court ruling ordering the enclave to be dismantled. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

A Palestinian policeman tries to extinguish fires at an olive tree grove in the northern West Bank village of Burin, near Nablus, Friday, July 15, 2011. Palestinians at the scene claimed the grove was set ablaze by Israeli settlers, a claim which could not be immediately or independently verified. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

A Palestinian fire fighter tries to put out flames in a field, after arsonists torched an olive grove in the West Bank village of Burin, near Nablus, Monday, Sept. 5, 2011. Palestinian witnesses say Jewish settlers set fire to an olive grove in a West Bank village Monday, after a mosque was torched allegedly by Jewish settlers in another West Bank village earlier. Both incidents occurred after the Israeli military razed three buildings in an unauthorized West Bank Jewish settlement outpost before dawn, and clashed with defiant settlers who reject a Supreme Court ruling ordering the enclave to be dismantled. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

Mohammad Zeban, a Palestinian farmer, walks near an olive grove he says was burnt by Jewish settlers from the nearby settlement of Yitzhar, in his field in the West Bank village of Huwara near Nablus July 6, 2011. Scorched hillsides and charred olive groves near Nablus pinpoint the latest acts of arson by hardline Jewish settlers against Palestinians who say they are ever more the victims of such attacks in the West Bank. Picture taken July 6, 2011.

A Palestinian farmer inspects his olive grove in the West Bank village of Hawara, south of the West Bank city of Nablus, on September 8, 2011, after dozens of olive trees were uprooted in the field between Huwwara and the hardline Yitzhar settlement. The attack, which locals blamed on Jewish settlers, came a day after the army said unidentified “vandals” had attacked military vehicles on a base near Ramallah, slashing tyres and spraying them with the words “price tag.” PHOTO/JAAFAR ASHTIYEH

A Palestinian man walks between broken olive tree branches in West Bank village of Hawara, near Nablus,Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011. Three dozen trees have been uprooted in the village, part of a string of attacks which included the burning of two cars and Hebrew graffiti spraying on a mosque. Jewish settlers are suspected of carrying out the attacks in retaliation for recent Israeli government action against the settlers. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

A Palestinian man uses a branch to put out a fire in an olive grove and field, which according to the local Palestinian villagers was started by settlers from a near by Jewish settlement close to the West Bank village of Burin on September 5, 2011, as tensions between Palestinian living in towns and villages in the Israeli occupied West Bank and Jewish settlers living in settlement dotted around the West Bank remain high. AFP PHOTO/JAAFAR ASHTIYEH

A Palestinian policeman uses a flap to put out a fire in an olive grove and field, which according to the local Palestinian villagers was started by settlers from a near by Jewish settlement close to the West Bank village of Burin on September 5, 2011, as tensions between Palestinian living in towns and villages in the Israeli occupied West Bank and Jewish settlers living in settlement dotted around the West Bank remain high. AFP PHOTO/JAAFAR ASHTIYEH

A Palestinian policeman tries to extinguish fires at an olive tree grove in the northern West Bank village of Burin, near Nablus, Friday, July 15, 2011. Palestinians at the scene claimed the grove was set ablaze by Israeli settlers, a claim which could not be immediately or independently verified. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

Palestinian villagers and firefighters try to extinguish a fire, they say was started by Jewish settlers, in a field in the West Bank village of Burin near Nablus June 30, 2011. Scorched hillsides and charred olive groves near Nablus pinpoint the latest acts of arson by hardline Jewish settlers against Palestinians who say they are ever more the victims of such attacks in the West Bank. Picture taken June 30, 2011. To match feature PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL/SETTLERS REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini

A Palestinian farmer holds up broken olive tree branches in the village of Qusra. in the northern West Bank, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011. According to Palestinian residents, some 50 olive trees were uprooted by Jewish settlers from a nearby settlement Saturday. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

Palestinian farmers hold up broken olive tree branches in the village of Qusra. in the northern West Bank, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011. According to Palestinian residents, some 50 olive trees were uprooted by Jewish settlers from a nearby settlement Saturday. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

A Palestinian farmer holds olives collected from broken olive tree branches in the village of Qusra. in the northern West Bank, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011. According to Palestinian residents, some 50 olive trees were uprooted by Jewish settlers from a nearby settlement Saturday. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

A Palestinian farmer holds a broken branch of an olive tree in the northern West Bank village of Qusra, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011. Palestinian farmers found some 400 olive trees uprooted or torn apart in the West Bank village of Qusra on Sunday. They blamed nearby hardline Jewish settlers for the damage. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh)

A Palestinian farmer holds a broken branch of an olive tree in a grove in the West Bank village of Qusra, some 15 kilometres (nine miles) southeast of Nablus, after Palestinian farmers found some 400 olive trees uprooted or torn apart reportedly by hardline Jewish settlers on September 25, 2011. Hardline settlers have adopted what they call a “price tag” policy under which they attack Palestinians and their property in response to Israeli government measures against settlements. AFP PHOTO/JAAFAR ASHTIYEH

Children of Israeli settlers damage vines in a Palestinian orchard near Hebron during a rally which preceeded a funral on September 25, 2011 at the location where Israeli settler Asher Palmer, 25, and his one-year-old son, Yehonatan, were killed two days earlier when their car overturned near the Kiryat Arba settlement in the southern West Bank in a car accident allegedly caused by a stone thrower. AFP PHOTO/DAVID BUIMOVITCH

A Palestinian boy holds a broken branch of an olive tree in a grove in the West Bank village of Qusra, some 15 kilometres (nine miles) southeast of Nablus, after Palestinian farmers found some 400 olive trees uprooted or torn apart reportedly by hardline Jewish settlers on September 25, 2011. Hardline settlers have adopted what they call a “price tag” policy under which they attack Palestinians and their property in response to Israeli government measures against settlements. AFP PHOTO/JAAFAR ASHTIYEH

Israeli Settler Lynch in Anata

September 30, 2011

The morning of 30.9.11 few palestinians & israeli activists came to plant trees in an area of village Anata newly confiscated recently by the Jewish settlement of Anatot, a mass of settlers descended on them & beat them up brutally in a lynching style & abducted 2 Palestinian activists holding them prisoners in the settlement while other injured activists had to be treated in a hospital. An urgent demo against the settlements lynching mob attack on peaceful demonstrators was called in.

Jewish settlers clash with some 20 left-wing pro-Palestinian Israeli activists in the Anatot settlement in the occupied West Bank northeast of Jerusalem on September 30, 2011, after about 20 leftist Israeli pro-Palestinians arrived at the settlement waving Palestinian flags in support of an Arab who had put up a tent on land he claims is his. A Palestinian source said the Palestinian was from east Jerusalem, which was conquered by Israel in the 1967 Six Day war and later annexed. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD GHARABLI

Jewish settlers clash with some 20 left-wing pro-Palestinian Israeli activists in the Anatot settlement in the occupied West Bank northeast of Jerusalem on September 30, 2011, after about 20 leftist Israeli pro-Palestinians arrived at the settlement waving Palestinian flags in support of an Arab who had put up a tent on land he claims is his. A Palestinian source said the Palestinian was from east Jerusalem, which was conquered by Israel in the 1967 Six Day war and later annexed. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD GHARABLI